Shown entirely in black and white, there is a temptation to see John Marco Lopez's Paradise City as an illustration of a bleak world, literally devoid of color. As a result, there is a world that is in constant opposition between good and evil. Throw in characters who seemingly have a clear morality (or, in some cases, lack thereof), and what you get is the immediate understanding that heroes are decidedly heroes and villains are hopelessly villains. But resist that temptation and instead take a closer look at the world Lopez actually presents in his third feature film.
While Paradise City generally leaves a lot to be desired, the most interesting, indeed nuanced, element is that it plays into viewers' preconceived notions of who the cops, terrorists, criminals, and family units are—that is, who we are. led to believe they are, and challenges you to think more critically. For example, positioning Police Chief Frank Murdoch (Sticky Fingaz) as the decorated bid leading a counter-terrorism campaign against local extremists in New York and conversely positioning Brother Nazim (Giant), an ex-criminal turned devout. Muslim, as the prime suspect in the Murdoch investigation, the film invites you, as a viewer in a post-9/11 world, to believe that Murdoch is good and Nazim is bad.
Director: Chuck Russell
Writers: Edward Drake, Corey Large, Chuck Russell
Stars: Bruce Willis, John Travolta, Stephen Dorff
At the same time, however, the film flips those stereotypes on its head, ironically urging you to resist seeing the world in black and white terms. This is where Alistair (Petrovski) and Jimmy (Savignon) come in: as the emotional backbone of the film, these two characters, the first, a junkie with well-to-do roots; the latter, a young cop with a checkered past, working undercover at Nazim's congregation, ultimately become the best examples of the pain, anguish, and sacrifice that abound in a world where the bad pretend to be good and where the good guys are either targeted, disenfranchised or exploited by the bad guys.
The film's cast performs well: Sticky Fingaz, with his gravelly voice, is menacing as the corrupt police chief; Saviñon is superb as the undercover cop dealing with his mission and his morality; and Giant is an oasis of peace and love as a reformed criminal and leader of his congregation. But it is Petrovsky who stands out as the messy, loud and emotionally distraught addict who takes on his manipulative sister.
However, what the film lacks is cohesion. Lopez takes the action-packed political drama we normally see being produced by major Hollywood studios and tries to boil it down to the sensibilities of independent cinema, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but sometimes there are too many of them. elements, secondary scenes and side stories that are trying to shine. So much so that it becomes distracting and, more damagingly, evident that this is, above all, an independent film that fits the much larger shoes of a blockbuster film.
With this being Lopez's third feature film, most of the film's flaws can, of course, be forgiven. López, in directing him, shows sensitivity and depth in the way he crafts and captures the human spirit in the good, bad, and in-between characters. Alistair's flashback/dream sequences, for example, aim for the heart and never miss, allowing viewers to dive deep into one of the most complex and ambiguous characters. This allows us to believe in him and also resist judgment when it comes to his explosive decision at the end of the movie.